The Agriculture Ministers of the EU countries say they broadly agree with the Green Deal of European Commissioner Frans Timmermans, but they are still very cautious on key points.
To protect biodiversity and implement the new 'Farm to Fork' food strategy, a much higher EU agricultural budget will be needed, the Agriculture Ministers indicated during an informal (first) (video) meeting.
Much more research will have to be done first, the ministers said. And additional funding for that extra research will have to come from other EU research funds (the Horizon program). That extra money must NOT come from the CAP reserves for rural development, they already warned their Finance colleagues.
To transform food systems, EU countries will need to renew production and distribution methods. This will require more investment in research and development, digitalization and new technologies, according to the ministers.
The EU’s multiannual budget allocates a total of €391 billion for agriculture and rural development. In addition, from 2021 onwards the Commission will make available €10 billion for research on food, bio-economy, natural resources, agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture and the environment.
However, the ministers say longer negotiations are needed to smooth out the many remaining details, as countries are concerned about the impact of the EU plan to make food production more environmentally friendly.
While most ministers say they agree with the objectives, they also state that the new measures for farmers could lead to higher production costs and lower yields.
They warn that environmental requirements must not fall solely on the shoulders of farmers. The ministers say the EU must give more flexibility to individual EU countries in drafting national strategies to achieve such EU goals.
EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said the plans would enable EU countries to use different starting points to achieve the new EU-wide objectives. “It will not be an easy discussion with the member states to find a solution and to take into account these different situations and different starting points,” Wojciechowski told the ministers.
Wojciechowski hopes for a swift agreement on the multiannual EU budget during the German presidency of the EU Council, starting in July. ‘I hope the EU will conclude this debate as soon as possible,’ he said.